The Ministry of Health's isolation supervision is based on public trust, which for its part recognizes that the government is doing everything possible to reduce its economic and social harm.

The signs of anxiety and panic from the Corona can already be seen in recent days in Israel: a marked decline in Israelis' arrival in emergency rooms in the Gush Dan hospitals, including the emergency room in the Sheba government hospital in Tel Hashomer, which today handles most Corona patients in Israel; canceling many social events, even if they were planned For dozens of guests only; a sweeping cancellation of Israeli travel to most destinations abroad; A decline in Israelis' departure to shopping centers, and also cases of taxi drivers who refuse to drive tourists.

An empty flight from Ben Gurion Airport to Paris

These signs emerge following reports of continued corona expansion in the world, including in the US, stock market declines, and ongoing Health Ministry announcements of more and more Israelis being exposed to the disease, tens of thousands of Israelis in domestic isolation, and about 2,000 Israelis examined Most of them, thankfully, were undetected.

The significance of the new and very stringent measures taken by the Ministry of Health is the isolation of Israel from many major countries in the world, as well as isolation for a long period of tens of thousands of Israelis. There is concern that more thousands will be asked to enter home isolation. The ministry has already announced that they are considering further, and perhaps even sooner, much more serious steps to the closure of schools and public transport.

The main problem in preparing Israel and the world for the new virus is based only on partial information, as the virus has so far been unknown to science and medicine and there is still no vaccine to prevent it, or scientifically proven treatment that can deal with it. The new stringent measures of the Ministry of Health are intended to try to reduce, delay and reduce the rate of the epidemic in Israel by the summer, when, according to the estimates and hopes of some health organizations, the infection will be reduced worldwide.

But dealing with the Corona virus, as with any epidemic, is not only medical, but also social, psychological and moral. In addition to the virus that infects patients and spreads, false and frightening information, rumors, hysteria and panic can also - and already do - cause its spread and serious harm to the public. Public confidence in the Ministry of Health's information on the disease and the public's willingness to accept and follow the Ministry of Health's guidelines play a critical role in combating the spread of the virus and reducing the disease and the number of dead, God forbid.

Israel's resilience to the spread of the virus should rest not only on medical preparedness, but also on a strong and robust social and economic infrastructure. The state should, as far as possible, reduce the damage to Israeli companies and employment, such as the airlines. While it is true that the Ministry of Health must work first and foremost for the protection of public health, it must also take into account Israel's economic and social resilience, and it seems that it does not always do enough. The state must also prepare to help and compensate those affected by the crisis, and announce it as soon as possible to reduce economic panic.

Most of the Ministry of Health's measures to reduce the spread of the epidemic are based on social and civic solidarity, and on citizens' personal commitment to the general public, much more than medical technologies and threats of enforcement, policing and coercion. Thus, the ministry's demand of tens of thousands of Israelis returning from the Corona-infected countries or those who were close to patients with the virus remain for two weeks in home isolation, based on self-discipline and civil solidarity. The ministry itself knows that it cannot and does not purport to succeed in overseeing the issue of isolation and is based on public trust. However, the willingness to do so is based on the recognition of Israelis that the Ministry of Health and the Government are doing everything possible to reduce their social and economic harm, and that the Ministry of Health is acting in a fair, just, equitable and measured manner and that it does not act out of hysteria that can be even more offensive and deadly than the virus. The dangerous himself.